Long Hours and Gender

Not surprisingly, in the 2006 Census, men were more likely to report working long hours than women, while women were more likely to be working less than full-time hours. Figure 4 shows the distribution of working hours for men and women, and highlights the fact that, while significant numbers of New Zealanders are working long hours, they are still the minority, with “standard” working hours being the most common for both men and women.

Figure 4: The distribution of reported usual weekly working hours, by gender

Data Table for Figure 4

Figure 5 provides a picture of the proportions of men and women who are working long hours. It shows that around 32% of men work 50 or more hours a week and just over 12% of women work these hours. When only those who are employed full-time are considered, the proportions of those working long hours rise to 36% of men and 19% of women. This represents 308,079 men and 107,562 women working 50 or more hours each week.

Figure 5: Hours worked per week, men and women

Data Table for Figure 5

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